I haven't climbed in years and have never climbed indoors, so is Vertical Edge a good place to climb to kinda get back into it?

6/9/2010 12:15:22 PM

I like it a lot - the people who work there give me a lot of tips/advice. They also change the routes every couple months so it keeps things interesting.

6/9/2010 12:29:38 PM

yea its a good spot

Triangle Rock Club is nicer, IMO, but also slightly more expensive

^also I am going to make you look stoopid tomorrow as I crush both of those routes I couldn't finish last time.

6/9/2010 12:36:50 PM

You're going to be pissed when you figure out I'm so much better at this than you are. You will probably cry. Again.

6/9/2010 12:54:15 PM

umm, I already told you, I had some chalk in my eye. Those weren't real tears.

6/9/2010 1:06:05 PM

What I climbed this weekend:
http://www.supertopo.com/rock-climbing/Yosemite-Valley-Glacier-Point-Apron-Goodrich-Pinnacle-Right

A long, fun slab route!
I thought the crux section was a 20+ ft traversing runout where a couple of 5.8 moves gets you to some protection. A fall on this swings you over a roof, scary! As I was standing on the 5.8 part both of my feet slowly slipped down the rock (I was wearing super comfy yet lousy climbing shoes) with tiny flakes to pull on for my hands. Very unnerving but I made the move and got to the top.

There is a 30+ pitch extension of this route which goes all the way up to the top of Glacier Point.

6/9/2010 8:17:52 PM

NICE!!

6/10/2010 12:36:33 PM

i have a trango pyramid belay device i used only a handful of times if anyone wants it. it's kind of pink so it's pretty cute i traded up for a variable friction device.

6/10/2010 2:40:04 PM

Ooooh I didn't know there were other climbers on TWW, though I should of suspected.

I have La Sportiva Solution climbing shoes which are ultra-aggressive but seriously the best shoe you can buy for everything except slab climbing (but who really enjoys slab climbing anyways). As for a harness, I've been using a basic black diamond harness for the past couple years that works well for me.

As for gyms in the Triangle, when I lived here I would go to Raleigh Rock Yard, but it closed for about 30 fire safety violations. I've heard great things about TRC but haven't actually climbed there, and Verticle Urge seems alright.

Does anyone here do any outside climbing? I go to Pilot Mountain/Moore's most often since it's convenient to Greensboro, but have done some bouldering around Boone and climbed a good bit at Crowder's down outside of Charlotte. I'm climbing consistently 5.11-, and on a good day can get some 5.11+/5.12- sport routes.

I'm so excited to see TWW climbers.

6/11/2010 1:47:18 PM

^well you're climbing harder than I am!


I've only been to Moore's wall once (and never to pilot), only top-roped. But question: Have you bouldered at Moore's and was it worth your time? Last time I went we couldn't find the boulder field.

Quote :

"who really enjoys slab climbing"

WINTERMUTE IS PISSED!!!!!!!!!









[Edited on June 11, 2010 at 5:19 PM. Reason : im joshin on that last part]

6/11/2010 5:18:02 PM

Quote :

"Have you bouldered at Moore's and was it worth your time? Last time I went we couldn't find the boulder field."

Yes I have, and no it's not. The best boulder has a two mile access hike (two mile boulder) and its really just one or two boulders. Boone is best for bouldering IMO, Moore's is generally more for trad. Pilot is great for top roping, I would highly recommend going there especially if you're climbing 5.10 or below (the hardest climb at Pilot is 5.13a).

Pilot also has some super easy Sport climbs that are actually real climbs (Black Rain is a 5.9 and super easy and probably the best first lead in NC).

6/11/2010 6:40:59 PM

i've only been climbing since march so i'm still learning a lot. i've been hanging out at vertical edge a lot because if i belay for birthday parties i can climb for free that day and they give me free climbing passes. i also really like kids so it's pretty fun, and the parents usually tip me $5-$10. i also have all my own equipment now so i haven't had to pay a dime other than gas $, and terdferguson usually drives, so it's been a pretty sweet deal for me.

most of the routes i've been climbing these days are probably 5.8 at the most. i don't do a ton of bouldering there but when i do it's very basic for me, or just whatever i can manage to get my hands on at the moment. i'm climbing outside for the first time at the end of june. some friends and i got up with the raleigh parks adventure program and will be spending a day at pilot mountain.

6/11/2010 7:36:45 PM

Awesome! I've been climbing on and (mostly) off for 3 years now, but the strength comes back really quickly once you gain it. The hardest thing about climbing is learning technique, and that's always a struggle. That's pretty awesome that you're going out to Pilot at the end of June, make sure to pay close attention to how they set everything up because once you go outdoor, you won't want to climb in a gym anymore. They really are nothing alike, but you'll enjoy it a lot.

6/11/2010 8:10:06 PM

oops - july, not june! it's too late for me to edit that post. but yeah, i have heard from a number of people that once i climb outdoors i'll never want to be indoors. i'm definitely looking forward to something new and challenging for me at this point!

6/11/2010 8:15:53 PM

Once you climb outdoors you really start to realize that the only reason to climb indoors is to gain strength to climb outdoors. The similarities really end there.

6/11/2010 8:50:23 PM

Terdferg and I are checking out trc tonight - I've never been. I've heard it's smaller though so hopefully we aren't all climbing on top of each other.

6/29/2010 1:50:08 PM

Anyone here leading 10-12 outdoors? I'm trying to find more people to climb with on the weekends. Only have one friend who leads 12 and all he ever wants to do is try one route over and over. Boring.

^
TRC is great. It's smaller than some gyms, but the routes/problems are QUALITY. And the staff is really nice and helpful.

[Edited on June 29, 2010 at 2:00 PM. Reason : trc]

6/29/2010 1:58:11 PM

Quote :

"I have La Sportiva Solution climbing shoes which are ultra-aggressive but seriously the best shoe you can buy for everything except slab climbing (but who really enjoys slab climbing anyways)"

I tried the Solution on a couple weeks ago but rejected it. I know a lot of boulders who use them but they are too agressive for a lot of climbing I do. The climbing shoes I have are:
Red Chili Durango - Crappy, cheap but comfy shoe I use for mostly <5.9 trad routes.
La Sportiva Tradmaster - way stiff trad climbing shoe. They suck for face climbing anything harder than 5.10b.
Acopa JB - Burly high-top trad climbing shoes. Perfect for those 200 ft hand->offwidth crack you find in Yosemite. Acopa has awesome sticky rubber,
Boreal Jokers - My "sport" shoe, basically anything harder than 5.10b that is not a crack I use these.

In the end I'm not sure how much the shoe makes much of a difference.

6/29/2010 9:46:17 PM

Trc was a good change. The texture of the walls is different, easy to use for support. The routes all cross over and through each other so I felt like I was often too close to other climbers. In some ways that all made it a little more challenging and fun. I'll probably alternate bw there VE.

7/1/2010 8:03:32 AM

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1ovNZeBUPtU


posting another video to bump this guy back to the front page. I thought the slow-mo part of this video is pretty cool (when they cut the webbing)

7/13/2010 2:40:39 PM

there's a reason those dudes are missing teeth and have bloody faces

7/13/2010 5:15:17 PM

Finally found some video of Alex Honnold on Half Dome, unfortunately most of its in German.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gzxGXTUW0Gk&feature=related

7/15/2010 2:16:41 PM

i am going to pilot mountain on saturday for my first outdoor climbing experience. it is supposed to be 86 and partly cloudy, so it should be comfortable and fun!

7/28/2010 6:50:47 PM

I've been doing a bunch of easy stuff in tuolumne meadows. On top of Cathedral Peak with a million other people:


Yesterday I was at Lover's Leap and did the climb Dan Osman made famous speed free-soloing:
http://broadbandsports.com/node/203
It's a really fun climb! I did not dyno the "Bear's Reach" as Osman did at 1:13 in the video (I thought about it but chickened out). Even though it is only 5.7 it is quite sustained at that level it doesn't seem like there is anything easier than 5.7 for 300 ft. Second, the gear isn't as good as one might want. I only took a set of nuts and big cams and ran it out for 30 ft on the second pitch since I didn't believe any of the nuts I could place would be worth the effort.


[Edited on August 16, 2010 at 9:42 PM. Reason : x]

8/16/2010 9:41:09 PM

SICK!

are there any "backcountry" climbing areas in Yosemite? Like where the approach takes a day or more? Just curious.

8/17/2010 9:08:46 AM

Yes, in Northern and Southern Yosemite there are domes and cliffs that would probably take a full day of hiking or so to approach. I imagine there are quite a few 200-300 ft walls out in the Yosemite backcountry that may have seen one or two ascents if any at all.

8/17/2010 8:49:20 PM

Oooh yay, we can have a TWW climbing meetup!! I totally suck at it, but I think that's partially to a complex I got about it with how I started out. I got the shoes and harness, dont want them to go to waste!

^ where are you living that you can hit up yosemite on a regular basis?

[Edited on August 17, 2010 at 10:11 PM. Reason : sf]

8/17/2010 10:10:07 PM

I live in Livermore which is in the East Bay area only 2.5-3 hrs from the Valley. My girlfriend is in Davis which is only 1.5 hrs from Tahoe area climbing & skiing. I'm in a good location The only problem is I use to live in someplace in NM that had hundreds of climbs ten minutes from my house--when you're climbing 3-4 days a week outside a 5.12 sport climb isn't so hard! I miss that.

8/18/2010 1:35:03 AM

i'd love to get 3-4 days of any climbing in right now. i've been trying to go once a week but i feel like i've hit a plateau and haven't made any real improvement for a couple months now

i prefer top roping but i feel like i should do more bouldering to work on my strength. hopefully i can start squeezing in a 2nd day... maybe on the weekends. if i could afford to work with a trainer/instructor i would try hard to make more time for it. it's just not going to happen anytime in the next 9 months.

[Edited on August 24, 2010 at 5:25 PM. Reason : ]

8/24/2010 5:19:51 PM

any lady climbers have any input on helmets? or anyone have any input? i've done a little googling for women's helmets and this same one keeps popping up with good reviews, so i'm pretty interested in this elia helmet by petzl. it's ponytail compatible & kinda cute

9/13/2010 10:09:43 PM

That blue is gonna clash with the pink colorways on your harness. Im just sayin'

9/14/2010 9:14:17 AM

my harness is purple, thanks for noticing.

and the helmet comes in other colors:



i like the blue/pink combo. as long as it's all cute that's all i care about!

[Edited on September 14, 2010 at 8:30 PM. Reason : and safety, of course.]

9/14/2010 8:29:46 PM

color shouldnt matter though

Your gonna have to cover it in stickers anyways if you want to fit in with the cool kids

9/14/2010 8:37:13 PM

color doesn't matter, but a lot of the women's equipment is made in various appealing colors so picking that is part of the fun! i haven't seen a lot of people with stickers on their helmets, but my outdoor experience is limited as you know. i think they're kind of tacky.

9/14/2010 8:59:09 PM

I have the inexpensive B.D. helmet which looks a lot like the Petzl helmet in you pic. My problem with these helmets is that they are good for stuff being dropped on your head but damn near useless should the rope flip you over while leading & the back of your head impacts the rock. Petzl makes some higher end models which look like they are good, but unfortunately I haven't invested in them yet : |

9/14/2010 9:00:42 PM

Yeah, I definitely read that on some of the reviews. I'm not going to be lead climbing anytime in the next year - I just don't have the time for that kind of training right now. I think for the outdoor climbing I will be doing that model would suffice and be comfortable with my pony tails. I definitely had some issues with my hair getting caught in the helmet when I was climbing and ziplining.

9/15/2010 2:40:29 PM

anyone have any experience with tumblebees in greensboro? is it worth checking out? i'm visiting the fam and kind of want to see what it's like.


btw - i got the blue & white elia this week! very cute

10/9/2010 2:45:00 PM

look at that helmet in action!

10/17/2010 1:41:02 PM

seems i'm the only one interested in this thread. anyway, i've been watching this repeatedly today, even though it makes me wanna vom



[Edited on December 12, 2010 at 4:38 PM. Reason : .]

12/12/2010 4:36:29 PM

^
Ouch...that climb looks awful. Very impressive though.

12/13/2010 6:21:04 PM

toward the end, i love the face he makes when his fingers slip off the rock and the first thing he says is, "you're gonna want to see this!"

12/13/2010 6:37:29 PM

It's kinda the off season for climbing. Right now I'm just pulling on plastic. But I may go to J-Tree over christmas.

12/13/2010 10:57:53 PM

buuuuump

or should i just make a general rock climbing thread? maybe i'll do that. i'm sure TONS of people will post in it.

2/16/2011 8:00:57 PM

climbing at trc tonight!

2/17/2011 7:39:50 AM

Quote :

"or should i just make a general rock climbing thread?"

Yes! I'll post in it.

2/17/2011 7:56:16 AM